--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The true barbarian is he who thinks…" description: "\"The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices.\" — William Hazlitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/william-hazlitt-326_barbarian_the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-ever_461594.png" --- # The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous… ![“The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/william-hazlitt-326_barbarian_the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-ever_461594.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/william-hazlitt-326_barbarian_the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-ever_461594.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/william-hazlitt-326_barbarian_the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-ever_461594.png) > “The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True barbarism is the belief that only one's own preferences are civilized, dismissing all others as uncivilized. **In simple terms:** Recognize your own cultural bias. Key Takeaway Question your own judgments. Themes bias culture self‑awareness Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - cross‑cultural work - travel - debates Key Concepts ethnocentrism relativism prejudice Questions to Reflect On - How does this affect your interactions? A Different Perspective Can you be truly open to other tastes? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barbarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarian/) ## Related quotes > [Barbarian --A Code of Conduct honored by all true barbarian warriors, requiring excellent coordination with weapons, closeness to nature, awkwardness with women, common sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/barbarian-a-code-of-conduct-honored-by-all-true-barbarian-warriors/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [ “\[H\]e is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/h-e-is-a-barbarian-and-thinks-that-the-customs-of-his-tribe-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“BRITANNUS (shocked). Caesar: this is not proper. THEODOTUS (outraged). How! CAESAR (recovering his self-possession). Pardon him. Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/britannus-shocked-caesar-this-is-not-proper-theodotus-outraged-how/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“It was as if all my life had been spent fighting, killing and running. I wanted peace but I knew it was unattainable. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-nath/it-was-as-if-all-my-life-had-been-spent-fighting-killing-and-running/) Fredrik Nath > [Conan the Barbarian,' 'Star Wars,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Wizard of Oz' were my earliest VHS obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/conan-the-barbarian-star-wars-mary-poppins-and-the-wizard-of-oz-were/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [How is it that in the so-called barbarian ages art was understood, whereas in our age of progress exactly the opposite is true?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/how-is-it-that-in-the-so-called-barbarian-ages-art-was-understood/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [It is better to kill the barbarian during his coming than to tell your children that there was culture, but the barbarians came and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/it-is-better-to-kill-the-barbarian-during-his-coming-than-to-tell/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“I don't believe in virgin sacrifice. It encourages promiscuity at an early age”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrianne-ambrose/i-don-t-believe-in-virgin-sacrifice-it-encourages-promiscuity-at-an/) Adrianne Ambrose > [“The Barbarian hopes — and that is the mark of him, that he can have his cake and eat it too.He will consume what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/the-barbarian-hopes-and-that-is-the-mark-of-him-that-he-can-have-his/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [“The barbarian loves his own pride, and hates, or disbelieves in, the pride of others. I will be a civilized being, I will love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-blixen/the-barbarian-loves-his-own-pride-and-hates-or-disbelieves-in-the/) [Karen Blixen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-blixen/) > [“It wasn't too much, to take a frail figure into one's arms for those last moments of life. Better than a cot, or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/it-wasn-t-too-much-to-take-a-frail-figure-into-one-s-arms-for-those/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [There are three attributes for which I am grateful to Fortune: that I was born, first, human and not animal; second, man and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/there-are-three-attributes-for-which-i-am-grateful-to-fortune-that-i/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [“(First Barbarian): whats the difference between a lord and a barbarian? (second Barbarian): As little as a week!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gonick/first-barbarian-whats-the-difference-between-a-lord-and-a-barbarian/) Larry Gonick > [If you go back to the Conan the Barbarian series, I really liked that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-braugher/if-you-go-back-to-the-conan-the-barbarian-series-i-really-liked-that/) [Andre Braugher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-braugher/) > [One simply cannot engage in barbarous action without becoming a barbarian, because one cannot defend human values by calculated and unprovoked violence without doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/one-simply-cannot-engage-in-barbarous-action-without-becoming-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More Barbarian quotes > [One simply cannot engage in barbarous action without becoming a barbarian, because one cannot defend human values by calculated and unprovoked violence without doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/one-simply-cannot-engage-in-barbarous-action-without-becoming-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [If you go back to the Conan the Barbarian series, I really liked that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-braugher/if-you-go-back-to-the-conan-the-barbarian-series-i-really-liked-that/) [Andre Braugher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-braugher/) > [“(First Barbarian): whats the difference between a lord and a barbarian? (second Barbarian): As little as a week!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-gonick/first-barbarian-whats-the-difference-between-a-lord-and-a-barbarian/) Larry Gonick > [There are three attributes for which I am grateful to Fortune: that I was born, first, human and not animal; second, man and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thales/there-are-three-attributes-for-which-i-am-grateful-to-fortune-that-i/) [Thales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thales/) > [“It wasn't too much, to take a frail figure into one's arms for those last moments of life. Better than a cot, or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/it-wasn-t-too-much-to-take-a-frail-figure-into-one-s-arms-for-those/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“The barbarian loves his own pride, and hates, or disbelieves in, the pride of others. I will be a civilized being, I will love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-blixen/the-barbarian-loves-his-own-pride-and-hates-or-disbelieves-in-the/) [Karen Blixen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-blixen/) > [“The Barbarian hopes — and that is the mark of him, that he can have his cake and eat it too.He will consume what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/the-barbarian-hopes-and-that-is-the-mark-of-him-that-he-can-have-his/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [“I don't believe in virgin sacrifice. It encourages promiscuity at an early age”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrianne-ambrose/i-don-t-believe-in-virgin-sacrifice-it-encourages-promiscuity-at-an/) Adrianne Ambrose > [It is better to kill the barbarian during his coming than to tell your children that there was culture, but the barbarians came and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/it-is-better-to-kill-the-barbarian-during-his-coming-than-to-tell/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [How is it that in the so-called barbarian ages art was understood, whereas in our age of progress exactly the opposite is true?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/how-is-it-that-in-the-so-called-barbarian-ages-art-was-understood/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Conan the Barbarian,' 'Star Wars,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Wizard of Oz' were my earliest VHS obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/conan-the-barbarian-star-wars-mary-poppins-and-the-wizard-of-oz-were/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [“It was as if all my life had been spent fighting, killing and running. I wanted peace but I knew it was unattainable. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-nath/it-was-as-if-all-my-life-had-been-spent-fighting-killing-and-running/) Fredrik Nath > [“How DARE you and the rest of your barbarians set fire to my library? Play conqueror all you want, Mighty Caesar ! Rape, murder,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-buchman/how-dare-you-and-the-rest-of-your-barbarians-set-fire-to-my-library/) sidney buchman > [To be a great autocrat you must be a great barbarian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/to-be-a-great-autocrat-you-must-be-a-great-barbarian/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [If you were an ancient barbarian, I bet a real embarrassing thing would be if you were sacking Rome and your cape got caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/if-you-were-an-ancient-barbarian-i-bet-a-real-embarrassing-thing/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) [Browse all 88 Barbarian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barbarian/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Hazlitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-everything-barbarous-but-his-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Barbarian" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-everything-barbarous-but-his-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/william-hazlitt-326_barbarian_the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-ever_461594.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/william-hazlitt-326_barbarian_the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-ever_461594.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d5/william-hazlitt-326_barbarian_the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-ever_461594.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The true barbarian is he who thinks everything barbarous but his own tastes and prejudices.” — William Hazlitt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Hazlitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The true barbarian is he who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-everything-barbarous-but-his-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-true-barbarian-is-he-who-thinks-everything-barbarous-but-his-own/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```